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Monday, 12 December 2016

Farrah Durante is a washed-up middle-aged actor/single mom, one of many female actors who get older and find there’s no work for them. After one particularly bad day Farrah attempts suicide by walking into the Pacific - and then something else walks back out; something that wants revenge! Jim Zub and Djibril Morissette-Phan’s Glitterbomb is an excellent new series that gleefully attacks the fickle culture of Hollywood from a horror angle. The story grabs you immediately for pure shock value but holds your attention as Zub masterfully introduces you to Farrah and her world of disappointments before radically changing her and slowly ramping up the stakes.

Farrah’s a relatable character and a convincing one too. She used to co-star on a Star Trek-type show and I could definitely see someone like that struggling to get work after it ended - almost everyone post-whatever Star Trek show did! And I liked how Zub peopled her world with a former co-star friend who obviously did better than her, and a young girl babysitter who wants a shot at the Hollywood life - we see how acting can go for different people and how the cycle continues.

It’s not a major problem but I felt that the revenge storyline was overall a bit simplistic/one-dimensional and ended in a derivative Carrie-esque way. The detective subplot was completely underdeveloped to the point where it could’ve been jettisoned entirely without affecting anything. I’m also curious to see where this series is headed and what it’s going to be about given how this first book ends.

Glitterbomb, Volume 1: Red Carpet is a very compelling horror/revenge story and unsubtle hate screed on the entertainment industry - highly enjoyable reading!